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General manager and owner Derek Dubie, left, and service manager Norm Haskins in front of a lifted truck in their expanded service center.

North Adams' K-M Toyota Expands Service Center

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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The service center is located next to the main building at 51 West Main St. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — K-M Toyota has revamped its old body shop on West Main Street to better accommodate the service needs of its customers.
 
The body shop was closed down a few years ago, and has been used intermittently since, said Dennis Dubie, owner of K-M Toyota.
 
He decided it would be a great service area because it has enough room to be able to work on bigger vehicles. That took some investment and renovation.
 
"We had to take and change everything in the body shop to make it desirable for a service area," Dubie said.
 
He explained that Toyota had historically manufactured smaller automobiles but models and the brand have changed during the 62 years K-M Toyota has been in business in the county.
 
"Years ago Toyota was all small cars and now they've grown to very large cars so we knew that we had to make a change," he said. "We decided rather than just have it as a regular area to go in and service your Corolla, so to speak, we had a lot of room in there and the thing to do was to probably set it up for full-size vehicles."
 
A new heavy duty lift, new compressor, and two cranes have been installed. It also has more space for technicians to work around trucks and sport utility vehicles.
 
"With the equipment that we put in there, it is designed right now where we not only can do big engine and transmission repairs we can replace engines, we can replace transmissions," Dubie said.
 
The new equipment and space will help technicians work on bigger-sized trucks and SUVs regardless of the make or model whereas before the service area was limited. 
 
The space also has new scan tools to diagnose vehicles, new tire machines to accommodate bigger tires, and upgraded garage doors.
 
With these upgrades and the expansion, said Dubie, K-M will be able to help more customers and service more vehicles.
 
"We want to hang around for a while, we want to be here and we want to continue to service cars," he said. 
 
The service center is located at 51 West Main St. and the dealership is located at 1300 Curran Highway. Contact the service center at 413-663-7406 or schedule an appointment online. Contact the sales office at 413-663-5731.
 

Tags: automotive,   

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North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 
 
She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 
 
"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."
 
Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 
 
The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."
 
Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."
 
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